Come rant......with jill

I must begin this new blog post with a big thank you to those of you that chose to loose the invisible cloak and reach out to me regarding my last post WHY? It restores my faith in women - heck people - to know that I am not alone. I have made a point to say something nice to a complete stranger since then, when I feel it is appropriate. Yesterday when out exploring with the love of my immediate life, LLB and her Scot, our family friend Scooter and his girlfriend KnowMe I saw a server wearing an amazing pair of black boots that had been embroidered with colorful flowers. I took two seconds to share that I thought they were amazing! When I got back home I thought damn! Should have asked her where she got them....two seconds to do that. I was smiling as I shared and she beamed while saying thank you. So easy.....lets keep the good vibes rolling dear imaginary reader.

As mentioned above, we were out seeing the sights yesterday, we made a decision to head out to the furthest places we wanted to see then on subsequent days we would not have to travel as far. First stop for us was the Spiral Tunnels, the engineering of this over 100 years ago, still fascinates me t. We did have a bit of a wait but on such a beautiful day, it was lovely to stand and people/forest watch while we waited. The trains here in the west are super long, some 1 or 2 kilometers long. If you take a good look at the pic below you can see a train car close to the bottom right corner. Follow the cars going into the tunnel up on the left....the bottom car is part of the train heading into the tunnel. Now, if you look carefully you can see train cars in the middle of the picture. That is the engine and the front cars of the same same train coming out of the tunnel while end of the train is no where near entering the tunnel! I know, I know you probs have to be there to be excited, and I will lay claim to being a geek, but if you get the chance dear imaginary reader check it out!

Our next stop took us to Takakkkaw Falls in YoHo National Park, this too is among the highlights for our family, it is great to be able to share the experience with new people. The road in in a windy one through the forest, avalanche areas are easily seen. Switch backs to scare the heck out of you while another car (or bus!! YIKES) heads your way. There is a lovely waterfall called “Where the Waters Meet”, where water from the YOHO meets the water from Kicking Horse Pass, one grey one blue. Very powerful water...

By the time we made it to the main attraction we were all more than a wee bit hot, thankfully you can easily cool off

Our next stop was Emerald Lake and then Natural Bridge, each were enjoyed by the “kids”

After an amazing meal once again at Truffle Pigs is Field (this is another must if you are in the area), we headed back to Canmore. It was a quiet ride, a few sleepers along the route. Me, well I was proud that I had made it through the day without loosing my sh*t. Seems to be a bit of a recurring theme for me lately.

Ok, Ok, yeah, yeah, yeah....I know that I am blessed to be able to things that I do. The most basic of which is go outside where ever I want (in general terms) and when ever I want. I try to be a good sharer of space no matter where I am. I do not leave garbage, I will pick up garbage that I see (any of our family and I am sure yours do this). I try my best to not take anything into an area that really doesn’t need to be there...not dragging my cooler with me through a sight seeing area - we an go back and get it when we are ready to eat. I am not wearing a 45 pound backpack that I am clearly not used to wearing and I turn around in a crush of people unaware of the space that I consume and take out kids and others with said backpack. I don’t push my bike, front wheel up through a crowded farmers market when free bike check with security is provided.

I try to be specially aware and don’t leave my grocery cart deserted in the middle of a grocery isle so I can run back to get something I forgot, or take up the whole front of a shelf or freezer with my whole cart so no one else can get access. Then there is my alllllllll time favorite - sitting in my seat at a Jays game, and the person beside me is a guy with “man spread” for two and pushes or oozes (YUCK!!!) into my space. Usually this position is also completed while wearing a baseball hat along with the guy in front of him. A hat who’s position is moved several times in a game without giving consideration to those surrounding them whose sight line of said game is now obstructed!

Whew! I will now step down from my soapbox. The Jillie rant is over perhaps now I have regained some composure and am up to fight the going out in public fight for another day! Does this bother you as well dear imaginary reader?